Monday, March 14, 2016

Lent XXIX

Spiritual apathy is contrary to the precept to keep holy the Sabbath, which as a moral precept commands repose of the mind in God.

Thomas Aquinas, De Malo 11.3 ad 2. I really don't like the translation of 'spiritual apathy' for acedia here; better to stick to sloth, for all the potentially misleading assocations: that is, being grieved at one's own spiritual good because of its difficulty.

[Thomas Aquinas, On Evil, Regan, tr., Oxford University Press (Oxford: 2003) p. 368.]